Go-ahead for Yahsat’s No.3

Abu Dhabi’s Yahsat says that the preliminary design review for its third satellite, Al Yah-3 has been completed by sat-builder Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Virginia.

The satellite will be an all Ka-band high-throughput craft, and will be an all-electric satellite meaning that it will enjoy lower launch costs than a conventional chemically-fuelled satellite. The craft is due to be launched in 2016 and serve Africa and Brazil. Yahsat already have two satellites in orbit.

Marcus Vilaça, Acting CTO said, “The Preliminary Design Review is an industry standard process where our engineers review and confirm the overall architecture and design of our Al Yah 3 satellite. This is a significant step forward in the development phase of Al Yah 3 and ensures that we are on track to launch as scheduled for Q4 2016. While progress is underway with developing our third satellite, we are actively engaging with potential partners in Africa and Brazil enabling us to deploy much needed connectivity to underserved markets.”

Once operational, Al Yah 3 will enable the delivery of affordable broadband, to over 600 million users, specifically covering more than 95 per cent of the population in Brazil and 60 per cent of the population in Africa.

“This important milestone is a key step towards the Al Yah 3 launch”, said Christopher Richmond, Orbital’s Senior Vice President. “Al Yah 3 will be the first hybrid electric propulsion GEOStar-3-based spacecraft to be launched by Orbital at the end of 2016. It provides the benefits of higher power and greater payload capability while still maintaining advantageous launch costs.”